Missile with trajectory affecting means



Jan. 26, 1960 w. DUNZER MISSILE wmx TRAJECTORY AFFECTING MEANS 2Shets-Sheet 1 Filed July 1, 1957 Invmvr:

Jan. 26, 1960 w. DUNZER 2,922,367

MISSILE WITH TRAJECTORY AFFECTING MEANS Filed July 1, 1957 2Sheets-Sheet 2 MISSILE TRAIECTURY AFFECTING MEANS Werner Dunzer, Ilanz,Switzerland Application July 1, 1957, Serial No. 669,375

3 Claims. (Cl. 102-64) The present invention relates to missiles.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a missile thedirection of travel of which may be changed after the missile has beenlaunched.

There exist various types of missiles which can be manually thrown orotherwise launched so as to travel along a certain trajectory. It hasbeen found desirable, however, particularly in the case of hand grenadesfor use as a weapon of destruction in infantry combat, to provide amissile the trajectory of which may be changed after the missile hasbeen launched. in this way, the missile can be used to destroy targetswhich cannot be reached by a missile the trajectory of which cannot bealtered after it has been launched.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a missilewhich will change its direction of travel after it has been thrown orotherwise launched.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a missile whichcan be deflected from an original trajectory by any desired amount.

The objects of the present invention also include the provision ofvarious of types of missiles, such as bombshaped, bullet-shaped,rocket-shaped projectiles, etc., as well as a hand grenade type missilewhich are equipped with a mechanism for altering their direction oftravel after they have been launched.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a handgrenade type missile which is capable of being deflected from itsoriginal trajectory after a certain predetermined time interval haselapsed.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a handgrenade type missile which is provided with a manually operable timedelay device that can be held in an off position before the missile isthrown but which automatically moves to an on position as soon as themissile is released, and causes the missile to alter its direction oftravel a predetermined time interval following its launching.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a missilewhich can easily be mass-produced at very low cost.

With the above objects in View, the present invention mainly consists ina missile which comprises a missile body adapted to be projected along atrajectory and propelling means on the missile body for propelling thesame in a direction different from this trajectory while the missilebody travels therealong, thereby causing the missile to continuetraveling in this different direction.

According to one embodiment of the present invention the propellingmeans include a propulsive charge, detonator means for detonating thispropulsive charge, and time delay means operatively associated with thedetonator means for determining the instant at which the same detonatesthe propulsive'charge. In this way the time interval between thecommencement of the travel v.of the missile body along its initialtrajectory and the instant at which the detonator means detonates thepro- 2,922,36? Patented Jan. 26, 196i) 'ice pulsive charge, therebypropelling the missile body in this different direction, is determined.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of a missile according tothe present invention taken on line II of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the missile shown in Fig. 1 as seen from theleft;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the other side of the missile shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 1 but showingcertain structural details of a missile carrying an explosive charge;and

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 show differently shaped missiles in corporatingpropelling means according to the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, and to Figs. 1 to 3 thereof inparticular, there is shown a missile adapted to be manually projected.The missile comprises a substantially disk-shaped missile body 1 whichis flattened at 2, 3 and 4 and has a handle portion 6 formed with twoopposite recesses 5. Each recess is so shaped as to be adapted toreceive the thumb or fingers of a hand so that the thrower may grip themissile and project the same along a trajectory.

The missile body is formed with an axial bore 7, within which a cup 11is turnably arranged. The cup contains a propulsive charge 9 and apriming or detonator mechanism shown diagrammatically at 10. The latter,in turn, is operatively associated with a time delay mechanism showngenerally at 8. As will be more fully set forth below, the cupcooperates with the time delay mechanism in such a manner that byturning the cup within the bore 7 the time interval between activationof the time delay mechanism and the explosion of the propulsive charge 9may be adjusted. For this purpose, the cup carries an index mark 12which cooperates with a number of radially spaced stationary indexingmarks 13, 14, 15 on the face of the missile body 1.

The time delay mechanism includes a handle 16 which is connected formovement between an off position, shown in solid lines in Fig. 1,wherein the arcuate gripping portion of the handle is within one of therecesses 5 and wherein the time delay mechanism is inoperative, and anon position, shown in dotted lines, wherein the gripping portion isspaced from the missile body 1 and the time delay mechanism isoperative. The handle is continuously urged to its on position by asuitable spring (not shown in Fig. 1) so that the handle 16, which,prior to launching of the missile may be manually held in its offposition by the hand holding the missile, will automatically be moved toits on position upon launchmg.

It will be seen from the above that if the missile is traveling along acertain trajectory while in an attitude wherein the axis of the missilebody is transverse to the trajectory, explosion of the propulsive charge9 will cause the missile to continue traveling in a direction which isat right angles to the original trajectory. With the arrangement of thepropulsive charge as shown in Fig. 1, the missile will be propelled bythe charge in the direction of the arrow A. Also, it will be seen thatby 0 asymmetrically packing the cup 11 with an explosive charge, thedirection in which the missile is propelled .ries a setting element orarm 34'.

will. form an angle other than 90 with the original trajectory. Inpractice, this angle may vary from near zero to 180.

Thus, by pre-setting the time delay mechanism to any desired value,which is accomplished by turning the cup 11 untilthe index' mark 12 isin registration with the appropriate stationary index mark, the timeinterval between the launching of the missile and the instant at whichit is propelled in a different direction may be selected.

The above-described missile may be used as a toy in that no damage isinflicted by the missile upon the target which it strikes. It ispossible however, to provide an explosive charge so that the missile maybe used as a combat weapon of the hand grenade type. Such an arrangementis shown in Fig. 4 wherein the missile body is hollow and contains anexplosive charge 39. Additionally, Fig. 4*shows the structural detailsof a time delay mechanism incorporated in one embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment the handle 16 is pivotally mounted on ahub 17 which is turnably mounted on a stud 18. A suitable retaining disk19 is provided which is welded or soldered onto .the stud 18 at 20 so asto prevent axial movement of the hub 17 relative to the stud.

A clock work 21 which is provided with a spring housing 22 serves to seta gear train 23 in motion. A spindle 25 which is rotatably mountedwithin the time delay mechanism housing 24 carries an eccentric cammember 26 which, when the spindle 25 is rotated, serves to actuate aswitch '27. The latter lies in an electric circuit which includes abattery 28 and an ignition element 29, which ignition element is capableof igniting and detonating the propulsive charge 9.

A spring-loaded plunger 31 is provided for preventing movement of thegear train 23. This plunger is adapted to engage one of the gears of thegear train 23 and is formed with a collar 31', and a spring serves tobias the plunger into a position in which it is out of engagement withthe gear in question. The plunger is slidably mounted andextendstthrough an opening 32 and is engaged by the handle 16.Consequently, when the handle is pressed toward the missile body 1 intoits off position, the plunger 31 will be in engagement with the gear,thereby preventing rotation thereof. When the handle 16 is released, theplunger 31 will, under the influence of the spring 30, move out ofengagement with gear, thereby freeing the gear train and activating thetime delay mechanism.

The mechanism constituted by'the clock work 21 and gear train 23 isprovided with a regulator 34 which car- The latter is adapted tocooperate with a positioning element 33 which is fixedly connected tothe cup. 11 so that when this cup is rotated relative to the missilebody, the positioning element 33 engages. the setting element 34 so asto turn the same. Inv this way, the starting position of the cam member26 will be pre-set and this, in turn, determines the time interval whichwill elapse between the commencement of operation of the time delaymechanism and the closing of the switch 27. Thus, the time intervalbetween the release of the handle 16 and the detonation of thepropulsive charge 9 may bep're-adjusted.

If desired, the regulator may be provided 'with fan blades (not shown)so that it will act as a dynamic damping device which controls theoperating speed of the gear train 23. The fan blades may be deformed toany desired configuration so that the operating speed of the gear train23 can be pro-selected.

It will be seen from the above that when the cup 11 is filled with apropulsive charge, the latter may be detonated at a desired instantfollowing launching of the missile. This may beaccomplished by turningthe cup until the proper time interval is. indicatedQand by winding theclock work '21. To this end, the stud 1-8 is formed at its free end witha suitable slot 40 adapted to ings 36 and 38 has burned.

4 receive a screw driver or the like, thereby enabling the stud 18 to beturned until the clock work 21 is fully wound. The missile may then bethrown or otherwise caused to travel along its trajectory. Upon releaseof the missile, the handle 16 will be free to move to its on positionand it will do so under the influence of the spring 30. The plunger 31will thereupon move out of engagement with the gear which it previouslyblocked, and the clock work 21 will then be free to rotate the geartrain 23 until the cam 26 closes the switch 27 This, in turn, will causethe ignition device 29 to detonate the propulsive charge 9.

As set forth above, the missile shown in Fig. 4 is adapted to be used asa weapon of destruction. To this end a detonating charge 10 may bearranged in a detonating chamber formed between the bottom cross wall ofthe time delay mechanism housing 24 and a cross wall 37a which isimmediately adjacent the bottom cross wall of the cup 11. The cross wall37a is formed with an opening 36 and the bottom of the cup is formedwith an arcuate 'slot 35 so that interior of the cup and the detonatingchamber will at all times be in communication with each other,irrespective of the angular position of the cup 11 relative to themissile body 1. The latter, in turn, is formed with an opening 38 whichplaces the detonating chamber in communication with the space occupiedby the explosive charge 39. Consequently, when the propulsive charge isdetonated by the ignition device 29, the'charge 10 will be ignited andthis, in turn, will detonate the explosive charge 39 as soon as thatportion of the charge 10 between the open- In this way, the explosivecharge will be detonated a certain time after detonation of thepropulsive charge has altered the direction of travel of the missile.

Alternatively, entirely independent time delay means may be provided forexploding the explosive charge, or, if desired, a suitable percussionfuse may be provided for exploding the explosive charge upon impact ofthe missile with the target. In such an arrangement a suitable interlockmay be provided for making the missile a live one only upon release ofthe handle 16.

It has also been found that instead of a clock actuated detonatingdevice the projectile or centrifugal motion of the missile may be reliedupon to detonate the propulsive charge at the proper instant.Alternatively, chemical or thermal means may be provided. Moreover, itis not essential that the propelling force be obtained by an explosivein that the propulsive charge may be in the form of a gas under pressurewhich is exhausted at the proper instant.

Figs. 5 to 7 show bomb-shaped, bullet-shaped and rocket-shapedprojectiles, respectively, the direction of travel of which may bealtered after launching. In each of these figures the time delaymechanism are indicated at 8, the propulsive charges at 9 and thedetonating means at 10, so that upon detonation each propulsive chargewill seek to expand in the direction of the short arrows thereby causingthe missile to move in the opposite direction, as shown by the longerarrows.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofmissiles difiering from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied inmissiles incorporating a mechanical time delay mechanism, it is notintended to be limited to the details shown, since various modificationsand structural changes may be made without departing in any way from thespirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A disk-shaped missile adapted to be projected in a trajectorysubstantially radial of said disk While rotating about an axissubstantially perpendicular to said trajectory, said missile comprisinga missile body; a propulsive charge arranged in said body anddischargeable therefrom in an axial direction for propelling saidmissile in a direction opposite to the direction of discharge of saidpropulsive charge and substantially perpendicular to said trajectory;first detonating means for detonating said propulsive charge; explosivemeans including an explosive charge and second detonating means fordetonating the same; and time delay means operatively associated withsaid first and second detonating means for first activating said firstdetonating means and thereafter activating said second detonating means,whereby the time interval between the commencement of the travel of saidmissile along said trajectory and the instant at which said firstdetonator means detonates said propulsive charge, thereby propellingsaid missile in said substantially perpendicular direction isdetermined, and whereby also the time interval between thelast-mentioned instant at the instant at which said second detonatormeans detonates said explosive charge is determined.

2. A disk-shaped missile adapted to be projected in a trajectorysubstantially radial of said disk while rotating about an axissubstantially perpendicular to said trajectory, said missile comprisinga missile body formed with an axially extending opening; a propulsivecharge arranged in said body opening and dischargeable therefrom in anaxial direction for propelling said missile in a direction opposite tothe direction of discharge of said propulsive charge and substantiallyperpendicular to said trajectory; detonator means for detonating saidpropulsive charge; manually operable time delay means operativelyassociated with said detonator means for determining the instant atwhich the same detonates said propulsive charge; said time delay meansincluding a setting element and adjusting means operatively associatedwith said time delay means for pre-setting the time interval between thecommencement of travel of said missile body along said trajectory andthe instant at which said detonator means detonates said propulsivecharge, said adjusting means including a cup arranged in said axiallyextending opening and turnably mounted therein, said cup carrying apositioning element adapted to cooperate with said setting element forpositioning the same in different positions depending upon the angularposition of said cup, whereby said time delay means may be adjusted byturning said cup.

3. A missile as defined in claim 2 wherein said cup contains saidpropulsive charge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,102,732 Faber July 7, 1914 1,369,476 Semple Feb. 22, 1921 2,069,221Coupland Feb. 2, 1937 2,203,640 Hines et al June 4, 1940 2,415,348Haigney Feb. 4, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 301,603 Germany Sept. 23, 1920

